North Kivu
North Kivu
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Coordinates: 0°34′S 28°42′E / 0.567°S 28.700°E | |
Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Named for | Lake Kivu |
Capital and largest city | Goma |
Government | |
• Governor | Peter Cirimwami (military)[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 59,483 km2 (22,967 sq mi) |
• Rank | 18th |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,147,400 |
• Rank | 2nd |
• Density | 140/km2 (350/sq mi) |
Demonym | North Kivutian |
License Plate Code | CGO / 19 |
Official language | French |
National language | Swahili |
HDI (2017) | 0.440[2] low |
Website | www |
North Kivu (Jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini in Swahili) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3] Its capital is Goma. The 2020 population was estimated to be 8,147,400.[4]
North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the southwest, and South Kivu to the south. To the east, it borders the countries of Uganda and Rwanda.
The province consists of three cities—Goma, Butembo and Beni—and six territories—Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Walikale. The Rwenzori Mountains, which form part of the Albertine Rift, are located on the province's eastern edge, serving as a vital source of freshwater and sustaining a plethora of flora and fauna.[5][6] A project has been underway since 2013 to also grant city status to Kasindi, Oïcha and Luholu. It is home to the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site containing the endangered mountain gorillas.
The province is politically unstable and since 1998 has been one of the flashpoints of the military conflicts in the region.
North Kivu was the site of an
History
The frontiers of the Congo Free State were defined by the Neutrality Act during the 1885 Berlin Conference, in which the European powers staked out their territorial claims in Africa. The Congo Free State's northeastern boundary was defined in 1885 as "a straight line coming from the northern end of Lake Tanganyika and ending at a point located on the 30th east meridian and at 1° 20' south latitude; further north, the border is formed by the 30th meridian east." On this basis, all of Lake Kivu and both banks of the Ruzizi River were in the Free State.[7]
In June 1909,
Kivu District was created by an arrêté royal of 28 March 1912, which divided the Congo into 22 districts.[10] By 1954, Kivu District had been split into Sud-Kivu District and Nord-Kivu District.
The region was the scene of much fighting during the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the Kivu conflict (2004–present).
On August 19, 2003, DRC government decree 019/2003 offered
The dissident Mai-Mai 85th Brigade, commanded by Colonel Samy Matumo, controlled the cassiterite mine at Bisie, just north of Manoire in Walikale, in southeastern North Kivu.[12] The former RCD-K/ML also has fighters in the province; 'at the beginning of the transition [2002-3] the RCD-Mouvement de Libération president declared he had 8-10,000 Armée Patriotic Congolaise (APC) troops in the Beni-Lubero area of North Kivu.' This exaggerated figure seems to have been reduced to 'several thousand' (2-4,000?) as of early 2006, following demobilizations and men joining the integrated brigades.[13]
The Effacer le tableau and Beni massacre occurred in the province.
Approximate correspondence between historical and current province
Belgian Congo | Republic of the Congo | Zaire | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1908 | 1919 | 1932 | 1947 | 1963 | 1966 | 1971 | 1988 | 1997 | 2015 |
22 districts | 4 provinces | 6 provinces | 6 provinces | 21 provinces + capital | 8 provinces + capital | 8 provinces + capital | 11 provinces | 11 provinces | 26 provinces |
Bas-Uele | Orientale | Stanleyville Province
|
Orientale | Uele | Orientale | Haut-Zaïre | Orientale | Bas-Uele
| |
Haut-Uele | Haut-Uele
| ||||||||
Ituri | Kibali-Ituri | Ituri | |||||||
Stanleyville | Haut-Congo | Tshopo | |||||||
Aruwimi | |||||||||
Maniema | Costermansville
|
Kivu | Maniema
|
Kivu | Maniema
| ||||
Lowa | |||||||||
Kivu | Nord-Kivu | Nord-Kivu
| |||||||
Kivu-Central | Sud-Kivu
|
Geography
North Kivu borders Lake Edward to its east with Uganda and Lake Kivu to its southeast with Rwanda. The Virunga Mountains extends through the province. The mountain range is the site of the volcanoes Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, where approximately 40% of Africa's volcanic activity takes place, and Virunga National Park, which hosts mountain gorillas, an endangered species.
Human rights issues
In October 2007, the
Localities
See also
References
- ^ "RDC: un nouveau gouverneur militaire intérimaire au Nord-Kivu". RFI. September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2014). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ "Congo (Dem. Rep.): Provinces, Major Cities & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ Travel, Love; Trekking, Gorilla (October 23, 2020). "Gorilla Trekking". Gorilla Trekking Tours Uganda. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ Kaufmann, Georg; Hinderer, Matthias; Romanov, Douchko (2016). "Shaping the Rwenzoris: balancing uplift, erosion, and glaciation" (PDF). Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. p. 1762. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Lederer 1993, p. 2.
- ^ Rutanga 2011, p. 70.
- ^ Rutanga 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Lemarchand 1964, p. 63.
- ^ Jean Omasombo (ed.), RDC: Biographies des Acteurs de la Troisième République, Africa Museum, Bruxelles, 24-25.
- ^ Polgreen, Lydia (November 16, 2008). "Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ International Crisis Group, Security Sector Reform in the Congo, Africa Report N°104, February 13, 2006, p.14
- ^ "DR Congo: UN agency concerned at military buildup in North Kivu". UN News Service. October 5, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
- ^ Gordts, Eline (November 23, 2012). "PHOTOS: Tens Of Thousands Of Civilians Flee Goma". Huffington Post.
Sources
- Lederer, André (1993), "Incident de frontière au Kivu", Civilisations (in French), 41 (41): 415–426, , retrieved February 22, 2021
- Lemarchand, René (1964), Political Awakening in the Belgian Congo, University of California Press, GGKEY:TQ2J84FWCXN, retrieved August 19, 2020
- Rutanga, Murindwa (2011), Politics, Religion, and Power in the Great Lakes Region, African Books Collective, ISBN 978-2-86978-492-5
Further reading
- Denis Tull, The reconfiguration of political order in Africa: a case study of North Kivu (DR Congo), Volume 13 of Hamburg African studies, Institut für Afrika-Kunde (Hamburg, Germany), GIGA-Hamburg, 2005, ISBN 978-3-928049-90-0, 342 pages
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Map of North Kivu